


Patch's Adventures of Fox and the Hound

by PerkyGoth14



Category: The Fox and the Hound (1981)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2018-04-25
Packaged: 2019-04-06 13:39:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14058159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerkyGoth14/pseuds/PerkyGoth14
Summary: Patch and Colette recall the times of when Danielle experiencing her first crush that is Copper the Hound Dog, and back in the times when Copper's best friend was a fox kit named Tod who was adopted by a lonely human woman. This is the story of two animal best friends who come from two different worlds where Patch and the others try to help out.





	1. Chapter 1

"Hey, Dad, there was something we've wanted to know." Scruffy said.

"What's that, kiddo?" Patch smiled to his son.

"How did Aunt Danielle meet Uncle Copper?" Dot and Scruffy asked together. "Jinx!"

Patch chuckled to that as Colette came by with a smile. "That's a good question... Well, they mostly came closer together by the time we were introduced to a fox."

"A fox?" Dot and Scruffy asked, but not doing the jinx thing this time like Akito and Estelle often did with each other.

"I'm sure your Aunt Danielle's told ya about a fox named 'Tod' that became our friends." Patch replied.

"Ohh, yeah, Uncle Tod." Scruffy smiled.

"It was a long time ago..." Patch replied.

"Yay, story!" Dot cheered.

"What story?" Colette asked.

"How Danielle met Copper." Patch reminded.

"Oh, yeah..." Colette chuckled. "That's a good one."

"Come on, tell it." Scruffy smiled.

"Well... Okay..." Patch smiled back. "It was not too long after my adoption..."

Flashback

"You can sleep on the foot of my bed," Atticus pointed to his bed. "Or if you want, you can have your own basket."

"I do like my own space since I've had so many brothers and sisters, but I think I should sleep with you..." Patch decided.

"If that's your decision." Atticus smiled.

Patch hopped up on the foot of the bed and curled up on it. "This is cozy."

"Just remember, I get the sheets." Atticus smirked.

"You can have them." Patch laughed.

"Anyway, good night." Atticus smirked.

Patch chuckled as he then got comfortable.

Atticus then climbed into bed with him to get some sleep. "We got a long while until I go back to school."

"Yes!" Patch cheered before sleeping.

Atticus yawned. "I'll let you see Scamp and the others tomorrow..."

"Thanks, Atticus." Patch yawned back.

Atticus smiled as he then fell asleep.

Scruffy and Dot looked bored so far.

"Wait for it..." Patch told his children.

The next day, Atticus and Patch were on their way to see Cherry, but she was visiting James and Elizabeth to help Mo with moving into her new home and helping her get settled in.

"What's going on?" Patch asked.

"Oh..." Atticus put his hand to his face with a nervous smile. "My girlfriend is moving in."

"Girlfriend?" Patch smirked.

"Her name's Mo..." Atticus smiled sheepishly. "She used to live on the streets with her dog, but she's now adopted by Cherry's family..."

"Awesome." Patch smiled.

In the backyard, Angel was with Scamp, Colette, Danielle, and Annette. Patch came into the backyard and saw other puppies with a smile, but he then stopped as he saw one of the cocker spaniel triplets which made him feel stuck as he felt something deep within himself he had never felt before.

"Dad, this is more sounding like how you and Mom met." Scruffy's voice said.

"I'll skip ahead a little..." Patch's voice replied.

"Thank you." Dot and Scruffy's voices said.

Patch smiled and was excited to meet other dogs in the neighborhood as he got settled into the Fudo house. Now he had his own space, to watch TV, to get food, and sleep peacefully without having a bunch of brothers and sisters who would ruin it for him, especially with Rolly during meal times. And where he would be able to meet new dogs without being stampeded by his siblings. Patch smiled as he met with Colette, Danielle, Annette, Angel, and Scamp. They decided to hang out in the backyard while Atticus and Mo would visit each other and have some privacy. They all wondered what to do until they heard other dogs barking and a mother fox was running with her baby in her mouth.

"What's going on?" Collette asked.

"That mother is being chased." Annette frowned.

"Ooh, I love a good chase!" Danielle beamed.

"Danielle, this looks serious." Patch told her.

"Oh... Well, I still love a good chase." Danielle shrugged innocently.

"We better go help her." Patch said.

Angel poked her head through the doggy door. "Mo, we're going out for a bit." she then told her mistress.

"Okay, be careful." Mo said as she read a book with Atticus.

Angel nodded and soon left with the others to go probably follow mother fox. Danielle seemed to get lost on the way however and went to a different area as the mother fox looked around until she left her baby and looked sad for him. The mother fox heard the dog barking getting louder and soon ran as far away as she could, but the next sound heard after she disappeared was the sound of a shotgun. Hearing that caused Patch and the others to stop. Another shotgun was heard which made Patch and the others cringe. Colette shivered and looked scared and sad from the noise. Patch looked to her and decided to comfort her.

"Does that mean she's...?" Angel frowned.

"Yeah..." Scamp gulped.

An owl flew down from a tree and saw the fox kit left behind hiding in the blades of grass. Once the fox kit saw the owl, he hid behind one of the fence poles.

"Wow, I've never seen a fox up close before." Patch said as he comforted Colette who was upset and worried about the gunshot.

Colette seemed to blush under her fur about how kind and brave Patch was.

"You poor little fella..." The owl cooed to the poor fox kit who was now an orphan. "It's all right... Big Mama's here."

The owl and fox kit didn't seem to see or hear Patch and the others. The fox kit kept trying to avoid the owl since it thought she was a predator. There was soon barking heard in the distance of where the fox's mother had been shot.

"Ya know, you're gonna need some caring for," The owl smiled to the fox kit. "Now, let's see, darling... You need, um..."

The fox kit soon nuzzled against her, now able to trust her. Big Mama already knew what he was thinking. Colette soon settled down due to how cute the fox kit was.

"Oh, no, no, not me, not Big Mama now." The female owl chuckled before thinking about where to send the fox to, but she was distracted by an obnoxious pecking sound.

"Augh!" Annette groaned. "I have a headache now!"

Big Mama hid the fox kit into the grass and soon flew off to where the pecking noise was coming from.

"Where is that sound coming from?!" Collette groaned.

"Hm..." Patch hummed in thought. "I would guess a tree... I bet you it's a woodpecker."

"Must be." Collette said.

"Has anyone seen Danielle?" Scamp asked.

Everyone looked around and just now noticed that the tomboy cocker spaniel puppy was gone.

"Oh, no!" Annette and Collette panicked for their sister.

"We better find her." Angel said.

Patch looked worried about the fox kit being alone while they went off to find her. Eventually, Big Mama came back with two birds, and one was in fact a woodpecker who knocked on the door of the house that wasn't too far away from where they were, and there came out an old woman who seemed to live alone and soon found the fox kit. Patch knew that the fox kit was in good hands now.

Danielle ended up in someone else's yard. There was an older man who drove to what seemed to be his house and brought out a bag to an older dog who slept outside and showed a hound dog puppy who was named Copper.

"Copper?!" Danielle yelped at how young the pup she was in love with was.

"Wait, wait, so, you and the others were somehow seeing the past?" Scruffy's voice asked.

"It's hard to explain, but yeah..." Patch replied as he scratched behind his ear briefly. "I guess someone just wanted us to see how Tod and Copper came to be before we all became friends."

"So, you did meet them at Puppy School." Dot smiled.

Patch nodded.

"Great story, Dad..." Scruffy muttered. "The best five minutes of my life."

"Keep going." Dot said politely to her parents.

"Hey!" Scruffy pouted.

"Well, you know, eventually we met Tod and Copper and we all became friends," Patch smiled to Scruffy and Dot before frowning with a slight sigh. "Even though Copper's human didn't like that."

"Well, he was a hunter." Collette clarified.

"Yeah... Kind of a nasty one..." Patch narrowed his eyes as he didn't like Copper's master very much. "But, luckily, we could play with Tod and Copper when not in Puppy School."

Back in the old days, it was the weekend, which meant there was no school today, since Tod didn't have a human kid to play with, he went to go see if he could play with his best friend. Patch was seen going to join the others since they were all friends.

"Hey, guys, you wanna come see Copper with me?" Tod smiled to the other puppies.

"Y-Yeah, sounds like fun." Danielle smiled back.

"You know it." Patch added.

Tod smiled as he took them over there.

A rooster crow was heard when they came to the residence.

"Copper!" Tod called out as he waited with the others while the older dog known as Chief was sleeping.

"Copper, you ready to play?" Scamp smiled.

Copper was happy to see them all and tried to come over, but was a little nervous since Chief was fast asleep in the middle of the ground.

"Come on, Copper!" Danielle smiled.

Copper eventually made it over Chief, and smiled back as he ran towards Tod and the other puppies. Tod and Copper playfully tackled each other before they went to go play on the beautiful weekend day. Nothing seemed to ruin their fun besides Copper's master.

"Copper, you're my very best friend." Tod smiled.

"You're mine too, Tod!" Copper smiled back.

"We'll all be friends forever." Scamp smiled.

"That's right." Patch smiled back.

"Hey, let's go swimming!" Tod suggested.

"If I get a head-start, I can beat ya!" Copper laughed as he ran ahead.

"Hey!" Danielle laughed.

They went to the nearby pond and then went to take a swim all together, and where they all had fun swimming. Big Mama smiled as she watched them from a high branch.

"Splash! Splash!" Danielle laughed.

"Got you!" Colette laughed back.

"STOP SPLASHING ME!" Annette cried out like a diva.

Scamp soon splashed his sisters with a playful smirk.

"HEEEY!" The cocker spaniel triplets yelped.

"Sorry, ladies, I gotta swim," Scamp chuckled to his sisters before he was soon splashed by Angel. "What the? Hey!"

Angel giggled innocently as she waved to him with a front paw. There was then a whistling noise heard and someone was calling Copper's name.

"Copper, sounds like your owner is calling." Collette said.

Copper tried to ignore it so that he could still have fun, but he soon stopped and came to the human calling for him. "I gotta go training..." he told the others in regret.

"Do ya have to?" Tod asked with a smile. "We're having too much fun!"

"I gotta, he sounds awful mad." Copper said as he shook himself dry and kept going.

"We understand." Danielle said.

"We'll see ya tomorrow, and don't forget!" Tod called out.

"I won't!" Copper called back.


	2. Chapter 2

Patch, Angel, Scamp, Annette, Colette, and Danielle soon came home.

Cherry sniffed the air and cringed. "Ugh, wet dog..." She soon saw why she smelled wet dog.

"We went swimming today." Patch smiled to Atticus.

"We can tell by your smell." Atticus said.

"Oops, sorry." Patch smiled sheepishly.

"Time to dry you guys off." Mo said.

"Don't shake--" Cherry yelped, only to get sprinkled on by the water as the dogs shook themselves dry. "In the house..." she then said with a sigh before storming off. "I'm gonna soak in the tub."

Mo soon brought out towels and started to dry off the pups. 

"I feel funny around Copper sometimes... I don't know how to explain it..." Danielle said while they were being dried off.

"You must be feeling love." Collette said.

"Love?" Danielle asked. "What is love anyway?"

"I've been wondering that too." Scruffy's voice said.

"Well, you never know how to describe it unless you experience it yourself, it's a lot of wonderful feelings, but sometimes, I like to see it as sparks flying among one another." Patch advised to his son.

"That's nice." Scruffy said.

"You'll know about it eventually." Patch smiled.

Scruffy stuck his tongue out while Dot sighed dreamily about love.

"Anyways, what happened next?" Scruffy asked.

"Well..." Colette sighed. "The next time we saw Copper, it was a little sad... He was gonna come and see us, but he didn't come like he said he would, so we decided to go and see what kept him at home."

The next day in the childhood memory...

Copper had a rope tied around his neck connected to the barrel he slept in like Chief so he couldn't wander off again. 

Tod and the others soon arrived. "Hey, Copper, what happened to ya?" The fox kit asked the hound dog puppy. "Why didn't you--...Golly! You're all tied up!"

"Yeah, and it's no fun either," Copper frowned. "My master says I gotta stay home until school."

"That isn't fair." Patch frowned.

"Why?" Tod smiled. "We can play around here then!"

"Uh, Tod, I don't think Copper's human would want you around here..." Collette said nervously.

"She's right, Tod," Copper told the fox before gesturing to the older dog who was sleeping. "Especially with Chief over there."

"Uh-oh..." Scamp gulped.

"Is that him making all that awful noise?" Tod glared about the snoring.

"It keeps me awake at night." Copper admitted.

Tod soon came over to take a look at Chief.

"Tod, what are you doing?" Patch whispered.

"Gee, is he ever big..." Tod commented as he observed Chief. "His ears aren't as big as yours, Copper."

"That's not the part you gotta worry about." Copper warned Tod quietly.

"Wow, look at those teeth!" Tod smiled as he pulled down Chief's lips.

"That's the part?" Danielle guessed.

"Uh-huh..." Copper nodded nervously.

Chief started to mumble in his sleep and moving a little bit.

"He's waking up!" Copper yelped before Chief's back leg kicked him. "Get out, Tod!"

"No, he's having a dream," Tod chuckled out of amusement. "He's chasing somethin'."

"Oh, no..." Colette gulped.

Chief mumbled in his sleep.

"Guys, he's chasing a badger." Tod giggled to the others.

"Tod!" Patch whispered loudly. "Get out of there!"

"Yeah, before it's too late." Angel whispered.

"No. It ain't a badger. It's a... It's a..." Chief kept sniffing until he had Tod against the end of the barrel and he woke up once he caught the scent. "It's a fox... FOX?!"

"And the chase starts." Patch sighed.

Copper saw that Danielle was in stunned silence and shock, so he helped her into his barrel to hide while everyone else hid away as Chief chased Tod around. "Are you okay?" he then asked the cocker spaniel.

"Uh-huh..." Danielle blushed that he actually saved her like that. "Thanks..."

"No problem." Copper told her.

Patch was with Colette and Angel was with Scamp. Annette seemed to be alone, but she covered her face with her front paws as Chief chased Tod all around the yard. The chase seemed to catch Copper's and Chief's master's attention. The chickens ran around in a panic from the chase. The hunter man came out, about to shoot, but his pants slid down when he shot the gun. Colette buried her face in Patch's fur since she didn't seem to like the sound of guns.

"Quick, let's get going." Scamp said.

The others nodded and rushed off to avoid getting shot or worse by the hunter that was Copper's human. The hunter kept trying to shoot at the fox kit, but soon fell over as Chief knocked him down with his barrel filled with chickens. Chief was soon caught in a tree as his barrel rope tied up around the truck, and the chickens flew free. Tod then climbed up and hid inside of the mailbox where his bird friends also where, but of course, the hunter saw him hiding there. The mailbox was nearly destroyed as Tod leaped out with his bird friends out of fear. 

Chief soon continued to chase Tod down well into the forest. However, with the barrel in the water, it yanked Chief back and he splashed into his barrel as Tod climbed up the meadow to his own home with Widow Tweed, and where he saw that she was leaving in her truck with the milk she milked from the cow. Chief struggled to get up after the young fox kit. Tod soon rushed over to Widow Tweed, but she was driving off without even seeing him, which made him chase her.

"Go, Tod!" Patch, Collette, Angel, Scamp, Annette, and Danielle smiled.

Tod slipped on a puddle, but soon kept running after his human. Copper and Chief's human soon drove after Tod. Danielle then came out with Copper to see what was happening. 

"No, Slade, don't!" Copper barked, though was held back by the rope tied around his neck.

Danielle began to gnaw on the rope to try and break it. Copper looked to her. Danielle growled as she chewed on the rope before it seemed to snap broken. Tod ran on the stone wall beside Widow Tweed's car and jumped from a gunshot.

"Tod?!" Widow Tweed looked over to see her new fox companion until she soon heard the gunshot again.

"I don't like guns." Colette sniffled.

"Oh, Colette, it's okay." Patch soothed.

Widow Tweed soon slammed on her breaks as she had enough of the hunter. There were bullet holes in the milk which leaked over Tod as he hid in the trunk of the old woman's car. The hunter tried to his own brakes, but didn't stop until he was inches from the old woman's face.

"Amos Slade, you trigger-happy lunatic!" Widow Tweed scolded as she grabbed his gun from him. "Give me that gun!"

"Whoa." The pups yelped.

The gunshot didn't hit the hunter specifically, but hit something else that meant a lot to him. "My radiator! Why, you blasted female. I'll--"

"Hold it, right there!" Widow Tweed, pointing at him with his own gun.

"Watch it, that thing's loaded!" Amos told her.

Widow Tweed glared and shot the air with the gun which scared Tod a little bit. "Now it ain't loaded!" The old woman told him with a glare as she threw his gun back to him.

Colette hid against Patch from the gunshots.

"Dag nabit, woman!" Amos glared at Widow Tweed, pointing to Tod as he hid behind the woman's leg. "You're favorite fox was after my chickens!"

"Rubbish and poppycock!" Widow Tweed glared back. "I don't believe it! He wouldn't hurt a thing!"

Chief soon growled as Amos argued with the lonely old woman. Patch began to growl at Chief.

"You callin' me a liar, you muddle-headed female?!" Amos furiously glared at Widow Tweed. "I saw it happen!"

"Amos Slade, that temper of yours is gonna get you into a lot of trouble someday!" Widow Tweed warned.

"Temper? Temper! Woman, you ain't seen my temper!" Amos glared before throwing his hat on the ground and stomped on it. "If I ever catch that fox on my property again, I'll blast him! And next time, I won't miss!"

Chief growled at Patch now, trying to look scary since he was a bigger and older dog. Patch kept growling, not afraid at all of Chief. Amos soon took Chief with him to go home. Patch nodded firmly and then looked over to Tod as he looked scared.

Dot was heard shaking.

"Oh, Dottie, are you okay?" Colette frowned softly to her daughter.

"That sounded scary." Dot said. 

"Trust us, that was the least scary part." Patch said.

"Oh, yeah, nothing compares to what's coming up." Colette agreed.

"I don't wanna hear this anymore!" Dot cried out. 

"Aw, Dot..." Scruffy frowned to his sister, feeling bad that she was scared.

"Don't worry; the scary part won't come up for a while." Patch assured them.

"There's more?" Dot frowned. "Well... Can you warn me when it comes?"

"Of course, dear, we will," Colette soothed. "Maybe this'll cheer you up, this part comes for Aunt Danielle and Grandma Lady about love."

Scruffy groaned again while Dot looked interested.

Danielle had been acting strange lately which worried her parents until Lady decided to have a talk with her. She didn't eat much anymore, she seemed to stare off into space more often, she seemed to lay around the house more than usual, and didn't even go to chase some cats that would pass their house once in a while.

"Danielle, are you okay?" Lady asked.

"I'm not sure, Mom..." Danielle said. "I don't know how to explain it, but... I feel funny... Funny weird, not like, funny haha..."

"Hmm..." Lady hummed, thinking based on her tomboy daughter's behavior. "Does it feel like someone punched you in the stomach?"

"A little bit..." Danielle said. 

"Oh, sweetie, I think you're experiencing your first crush!" Lady smiled.

"I... I am...?" Danielle asked her mother.

"I believe so..." Lady smiled. 

"Oh, gross, I'm in love!" Danielle grunted. "Make it stop, Mom!"

"I'm afraid I can't." Lady giggled.

"Ugh, this sucks." Danielle grumbled.

"Danielle, being in love is a wonderful thing," Lady smiled. "If we didn't have love, you wouldn't be here right now."

"I guess that's right." Danielle said.

"So, who's the other dog?" Lady asked.

"Um, his name's Copper." Danielle replied honestly.

"Aw!" Lady smiled.

Danielle blushed to her mother, but then smiled back to her.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day soon came. At Widow Tweed's place, Tod was looking out the window as he was inside.

"Poor little tyke," Widow Tweed frowned in sympathy as she cooked on the stove. "It's a shame I have to keep him cooped up."

Tod began to scratch at the door slightly, wanting to be let out.

"Tod, stop looking at me like that," Widow Tweed lightly chuckled to her fox kit. "It's not my fault, you know. You caused a lot of trouble yesterday."

Tod frowned as she was right, then heard some barking outside and climbed into her chair to take a closer look.

"Oh, now what are they up to?!" Widow Tweed groaned as she shoved the ladle back into her pot before going over to the window, and saw that Amos was loading up things into his car before going back to her stove. "Huh! Why it looks like Amos is goin' on a huntin' trip. A long one from the looks of it. Hmph. Well, good riddance."

Tod looked sad as that meant he wouldn't see Copper for a long time. He looked back to his human as she cooked on the stove and soon snuck out the window so he could see the hound dog at least for a little while before he would go away. Chief was already in the car while Amos struggled to start it up. Soon enough, the car started.

"Well, Copper, me and old Chief are gonna teach you all about huntin'," Amos smiled down to the young hound dog. "It's about time too."

"Yes, sir!" Copper barked with a smile back since Amos was in a good mood right now as he soon got into the car.

"Attaboy," Amos chuckled as he let Copper into the car. "Yeah, you're gonna like trackin' down those varmints for me."

Copper barked excitedly and tried to sit in the front seat.

"Uh-uh! Get in the back, half-pint," Chief shook his head at Copper. "You gotta earn your right to sit up front."

Copper frowned slightly, then hopped into the back. Chief was happy that Copper understood. Patch and the others were also coming over to check on things as Tod was trying to get to Copper before he would leave.

"C-C-Copper's leaving...?" Danielle asked shakily, she had her fur done just so she could impress the hound dog she had secret feelings for.

"Yeah." Tod frowned.

Copper struggled with the back-seat since he was lying on a crate.

"Well, boys," Amos told his dogs as he drove them away from home. "We're gettin' outta here 'til next Spring."

Tod and the others soon arrived too late. Copper quietly and sadly howled to the others as he rode off.

"Tod, honey, what are you doing over here?" Big Mama asked as she flew over.

"Gee, I just wanted to say goodbye to Copper," Tod frowned sadly. "But I'm too late."

"Same with us." Danielle frowned back to him.

"Well, what did you plan to do if you ran into old Chief?" Big Mama replied.

"Aw, Chief," Tod narrowed his eyes. "I can outfox that dumb old dog any time, besides, even Patch is stronger than he is."

"Tod! Now hold it just one minute!" Big Mama shook her head before lecturing the fox kit. "Didn't you learn anything yesterday? Now you listen good, Tod. Because it's either education or elimination!"

"She's right, Tod." Patch admitted.

Tod simply looked to them all in a confused manner.

"Now if you're so foxy and old Chief's so dumb, then why does the hound get the fox on the run? Because he's got the hunter, and the hunter's got the gun. Kablam! Elimination. Lack of Education," Big Mama advised as she flew and landed on a fence. " If you pal around with that Copper hound, you'll wind up hangin' on the wall. Keep your nose to the wind, and you'll keep your skin. 'Cuz you won't be home when the hunter comes to call!"

"Oh, Big Mama," Tod shook his head to the owl. "I know Copper would never track me down. Why old Copper, he's my best friend!"

"That's right." Danielle said.

"Your best friend!" Big Mama said to Tod. "Now Copper's gonna do what he's been told. Suppose to chase a little fox into an old foxhole. Then along comes a hunter with a buckshot load..."

The two birds, Dinky the Finch and Boomer the Woodpecker helped Big Mama explain that Copper would probably forget about being friends with Tod by the time he would come back home. The pups didn't agree though.

"Not my friend Copper," Tod frowned. "He won't ever change."

"I hope you're right, Tod." Big Mama soothed the fox kit.

"And we'll keep on being friends forever," Tod continued. "Won't we, Big Mama?"

"Darlin', forever is a long, long time," Big Mama told him. "And time has a way of changin' things."

"And we animals do age over the months." Patch said. 

Tod didn't want to believe that Copper would change too much the next time he would see him.

Dot frowned as she looked sad for Tod, even if this was just a story from the past.

"Let's fast forward a few dog years." Patch said.

"This is so sad for Uncle Tod though..." Dot whimpered. "Why does Uncle Copper have to hate him just cuz he's a fox?"

"He doesn't and he didn't back then, but, um, let's just say he grew a hatred later on," Patch said. "Anyway, fast forwarding to a few dog years in the story." 

Dot was a little unsure about that.

The seasons came and went, but soon, the puppies had grown up into bigger dogs, and Tod was now a full grown fox. Atticus raked the last of the old leaves in the yard. Patch came out of the house.

"Are you gonna jump?" Atticus asked suspiciously.

"I've grown up." Patch told him.

"Just checking..." Atticus chuckled and continued to rake the leaves.

"Hey, it's Spring; that means Copper's coming back." Patch smiled before running off to the others.

"See ya later, Patch!" Atticus called out.

"See ya!" Patch called back as he went to join the others.

Danielle seemed different again, she was a lot more feminine. She still had her tomboy moments, but she seemed to be more eager about taking baths and getting groomed like her mother and sisters, though Angel still seemed to hate that, and so did Scamp, but he did grow to tolerate having to do them. 

"Danielle, you look perfect." Annette smiled.

"Really perfect." Colette agreed.

"Don't push it." Danielle said, but giggled with them.

Patch soon arrived at their house.

"Hi, Patch!" The family greeted.

"Hey, guys," Patch smiled. "Wow, Danielle, you kinda look pretty."

"Don't get too excited." Danielle smirked as she fluffed up her ears which had white hair bows that matched her collar.

"You know what happens today, right?" Patch asked.

"Copper's coming home, isn't he?" Scamp asked.

"Yep," Patch smiled before smirking at Danielle. "Is that why you got yourself all pretty?"

"I've always been pretty." Danielle looked away, though blushed under her fur.

"She asked Mom for help." Colette whispered to her Dalmatian boyfriend.

"Ohh." Patch smiled.

"Let's get going." Danielle blushed.

"Right." The others agreed so that they could reunite with Copper, but on the way, they ran into Tod, who seemed to have a collar now.

Of course, Big Mama, Dinky, and Boomer were coming back since it was now Spring and they had to leave for the winter. The female owl had then dumped some leaves on Tod without knowing it. 

"Well, look who's here," The owl chuckled once she saw who it was. "Oh, my goodness. Ha ha! I'm sorry, Tod honey. I hope--"

"Hiya, Big Mama!" Dinky smiled as he landed on the fence. "We're back! We flew all the way!"

"Oh, yeah," Boomer added, he sounded a bit like Runt from The Animaniacs. "We did. We did."

"Hey, guys." Patch greeted the birds.

"Aw, looks like you all had a growth spurt too." Big Mama smiled to the former puppy dogs.

"We sure did." Scamp smiled.

"Hi, fellas!" Tod smiled to his bird friends.

"Hey! Who's that?!" Boomer panicked at the adult male fox. "Who's that?!"

"Hey!" Dinky glared down to Tod slightly. "This can't be that scrawny little squirt we found by the fence post. Can it? Come on."

"Yep, it's him." Patch smiled.

"I can't believe my eyes!" Boomer commented.

"It's me all right." Tod chuckled.

"Oh, Tod, your tail is so bushy and silky..." Annette smiled. "I wish I could get my fur to be soft and shiny like this."

Boomer soon went to Tod's tail, though it was more of a teasing, playful way.

"Aw, come on," Tod chuckled to his bird friends. "Cut it out. You guys are always teasing me."

Widow Tweed soon came out the front door with a wilted plant in her hands and put it down on the bench. Patch sniffed the wilted plant to find out why the plant had wilted when it was inside from the cold. A caterpillar slithered out onto his nose. Patch soon looked cross-eyed once he saw the caterpillar.

"Hey, it's him! It's him! Squeeks!" Dinky exclaimed before looking to Tod and the teenage dogs. "We'll see ya later, guys. We gotta take care of some unfinished business."

Patch saw Dinky and Boomer coming and knew why they thought the caterpillar was a worm. The caterpillar soon snuck away from the hungry woodpecker and finch. Patch soon went back to the others, already knowing the caterpillar could handle itself. Amos was heard singing as he was driving home with Copper and Chief, and Copper was even allowed sit up front as he had also grown up like the others, and where Patch and the others saw them coming. Danielle blushed even more when she saw how 'handsome' Copper looked as an older dog.

"Look, Copper's back." Scamp smiled.

"He has..." Danielle whispered in amazement. "Wow..."

"Don't be afraid of rejection..." Annette advised. "Be strong, be brave, and be courageous."

Danielle nodded out of determination.

"Gee, great to be home, huh, Chief?" Copper smiled as he lapped up some water and scratched himself.

"Eh..." Chief mumbled.

Copper could tell something was upsetting Chief. The others soon came over as Copper talked with Chief. Danielle felt even more nervous and could feel her heart beating faster than when they were younger, and her legs started to buckle as she couldn't seem to go any further.

"Come on, Danielle, you haven't seen Copper in forever!" Colette told her tomboy sister.

Danielle gulped slightly. "I know..."

Scamp soon gave Danielle a little push forward. Danielle blinked and looked back at her brother. Scamp kept pushing until he soon got Danielle close beside Copper and soon rushed off so that it could be the two of them, though Chief was there.

"Danielle, is that you?" Copper asked the cocker spaniel.

"Uh, yeah, i-it's me." Danielle smiled nervously.

"You look... Different..." Copper said. "Are those bows?"

"Oh, um, yes, they are..." Danielle replied sheepishly. "My mother thought they would bring out my eyes."

"They really do." Copper smiled.

"R-Really?" Danielle smiled back.

"Yes, and you look gorgeous." Copper nodded.

Danielle squealed quietly, almost like an anime character in love, though this was all in her head, but Copper's compliments and her speaking to him were real.

"So, what'd I miss?" Copper asked. "I think Chief's just a little jealous I got to track down the varmints from hunting."

"Patch met the Road Rovers." Danielle said.

"You did?!" Copper asked. "Oh, man, I thought they were just a myth!"

"No, no, they're real," Danielle giggled. "He told us all about the adventure he had with Hunter and Colleen."

"So lucky." Copper pouted.

"Patch is an amazing dog... Though, not as amazing as you, Copper," Danielle said as she put one paw down on his. "I'm really glad you're back home."

"Me too." Copper smiled.

The two dogs smiled to each other and even touched paws with each other as a dog's way of holding hands. The two of them soon went to sleep together.

"Should we wake them?" Scamp whispered to the others.

"Nah, let them have their moment." Angel whispered back.

"All right." Scamp nodded.

They soon gave the two dogs privacy to have their time alone together.


	4. Chapter 4

Later on, Tod soon arrived. Copper and Danielle still seemed to be together until Copper sensed something. 

"Copper?" Tod whispered. "Hey, Copper!"

Copper soon quietly got up and looked to see his best friend. The fox and the hound soon reunited after a long period of being away from each other, and they saw that each other had grown.

"Tod? I thought that was you I smelled you coming," Copper smiled quietly. "My, you sure have grown."

"You have too, Copper," Tod smiled back. "I saw you comin' back with Chief and the hunter."

Copper seemed to frown about that before smiling again. "It's great to see ya, Tod, but, you know, you. You shouldn't be over here. You're gonna get us both into a lot of trouble."

Danielle began to stir as she could hear what was going on. Chief's snore was also heard which worried Copper.

"Hey, look, I-I just wanted to see ya," Tod said to Copper. "We're still friends, aren't we?"

"Tod... Those days are over," Copper frowned. "I'm a huntin' dog now."

Tod was surprised to hear this and looked sad that his best friend would say that, and where Danielle heard that too and where she wasn't happy to hear that.

"Y-You need to get out of here before Old Chief wakes up." Copper told Tod. 

"Aw, gee..." Tod sulked as his ears drooped. "He doesn't worry me."

Danielle soon woke up quietly.

"Chief, he doesn't worry me." Tod said softly. 

"Tod, I'm serious," Copper told his best friend. "Y-You're fair game as far as he's concerned."

"Yeah, but you won't let him hurt Tod, will you?" Danielle asked Copper quietly.

Chief soon barked loudly once he saw Tod which startled the fox away.

"I'm sorry, Danielle, but it's just business, you wouldn't understand." Copper told Danielle. 

Danielle gasped in response to that. She was about to leave until they saw light come from Amos's house. The tomboy cocker spaniel soon decided to go with them, feeling maybe Copper changed too much. The commotion was heard by Widow Tweed, Mo, Atticus, and Cherry.

"What was that?" Cherry asked. 

"I better go check it out." Atticus decided.

Him, Mo, and Widow Tweed came out to see what was going on. Tod soon rushed to run off and hide before Amos or Chief could find him. Patch and the others soon joined him even if the strong dalmatian could take them on, he didn't want to become enemies with Copper. Copper found them until he was then called away. Atticus was soon heard calling out for Patch while Mo called for Scamp, Angel, and the cocker spaniel triplets. Patch and the others would have went to them, but didn't want Amos know where Tod was.

Copper looked to them and looked broken inside. "Guys, I... Tod, I don't wanna see you get killed..." he then told his best friend.

"Track him down, boy!" Amos called out to Copper.

"I'll let you go this one time." Copper told Tod before getting out of the way and howling to distract his human, and where Amos soon followed Copper away from the hiding spot.

Tod soon took that as his cue to go.

Tod and the dogs were soon on railroad tracks and began to run down them. Chief soon jumped out on the other side and barked aggressively towards Tod.

"Oh, why, Chief?!" Danielle complained.

Chief snarled to all of them. Patch snarled back as he stood in front of Tod for protection like a good, true friend would.

"Quick, Tod, run with the others while I handle Chief." Patch told him.

"Are you sure?" Tod asked.

"Trust me!" Patch told him. "GO!"

Tod looked back at him and soon ran with the others. Colette winked to Patch before going with the others while Chief tried to tackle down Patch, only for him to be unable to tackle him down.

"Is that the best you got, you old dog?" Patch growled. "Why don't you just leave Tod alone?!"

"Because he's a fox; as a dog, you should know that we hunt them down!" Chief growled back.

"But he's Copper's friend!" Patch defended.

"Foxes and hounds don't mix!" Chief snapped.

"Well, me, Collette, Scamp, Angel, Annette, Danielle, Copper, and Tod have proven that wrong!" Patch defended.

"Then you're a bunch of misfitted outcasts and you should be ashamed to call yerselves dogs!" Chief glared.

Patch continued to growl until he heard something coming on the train tracks. "Don't be... Don't be... Don't be..." The Dalmatian told himself until he slowly turned around and saw lights coming up followed by a train whistle. "Aw, nuts!" he then panicked and jumped down from the railroad to avoid getting hit by the train.

Unfortunately, Chief didn't join him and got hit by the train.

Dot yelped and ducked down, shivering.

"Dad... Did he... Um...?" Scruffy stammered.

"I thought he had, but he actually made it." Patch replied.

"It reminded me a lot of when Uncle Trusty got hit by the dogcatcher's wagon on Christmas Eve." Lady added.

"Whew," Dot sighed. "That's a relief."

"Trust me, I was scared too," Patch understood. "But unfortunately, something else happened when me and the others looked down from the train tracks to see if Chief was still alive."

Dot whimpered and looked scared again.

"Oh, there, there, honey, it'll be okay." Colette soothed her daughter. 

"I-Is this the scary part?" Dot asked nervously.

"Nope." Patch said.

"This story is really getting scary." Dot frowned.

"I'll let you know when it gets scary." Collette assured her daughter.

Dot wiped her eyes and tried to stay brave.

Back in the story, Copper came down to find Chief in the water, and he looked like he was almost dead.

"Chief...?" The young hound dog frowned and tried to nudge him. "Oh, no! No!"

Tod poked his head out as he looked sorry for both Copper and Chief. 

Copper soon looked up at the train track and soon saw Tod and the others and where he looked enraged. "TOD! IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO, I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS!" The hound dog threatened his best friend, blaming him for Chief's demise.

Meanwhile with the others...

Cherry shivered as she walked with Atticus and Mo to find their missing dogs while Widow Tweed was looking for her missing fox. "Oh, where could they be?" she asked as she was getting too cold.

"Goodness knows!" Widow Tweed replied. "We've searched every last corner."

"This is dreadful." Mo pouted.

They soon heard something coming.

"Someone's coming!" Cherry told the others, getting into a slight fighting stance. "Who's there? I know karate!....On the Wii."

Tod soon came out and rushed towards Widow Tweed and had Patch with the other dogs with him.

"Oh, thank goodness." Atticus sighed.

"Sorry, guys, we got caught up in something, and it wasn't good." Patch told their owners.

"Come on, let's go home, we'll talk about this later." Mo decided since it was rather late.

"All right." The dogs sighed.

They soon went home to be safe and sound. Also, since it was dark outside, Atticus, Mo, Cherry, and the pets stayed with Tod and Widow Tweed. They were soon inside which was nice and warm.

Cherry wiped her nose with a sniffle. "I think I caught a cold from being outside too long." She then told the others with a stuffed up nose.

"This calls for some magic chicken soup." Atticus said to Cherry.

Cherry sniffled and coughed as she hated being sick. Soon enough, Atticus brought out the magic chicken soup and gave it to Cherry. After sometime, Tod and the others were asleep. Cherry slurped down the chicken soup and was instantly cured due to the magical ingredients as it was no ordinary chicken soup.

"I'm so glad you're safe..." Mo whispered with a tear in her eye as she hugged Angel.

Angel smiled that she was back in Mo's arms until she smelled a familiar scent and started barking.

"What is it, girl?" Mo asked her dog.

Patch, Collette, Annette, Danielle, and Tod smelled the something and where Tod was hiding while Patch and the other joined in the barking.

"What is going on?!" Cherry's voice called out during The Twilight Bark.

The answer to that question was soon heard as there was a loud knocking sound at Widow Tweed's front door. Cherry groaned, covering her ears from agony of the loud knocking.

"What on Earth?!" Widow Tweed glared before she soon went to get the door.

"WIDOW! GET OUT HERE!" Amos's voice demanded.

Widow Tweed soon opened the door to see Amos. "Why, Amos, what're you--"

"Where is he?" Amos glared at her. "Where is he?! I know he's in there!"

"What's going on?" Mo asked.

Angel whimpered and whined slightly.

"It's that hunter again!" Scamp snapped.

"What do you want?!" Atticus glared at Amos.

"Where is he?" Amos glared back.

"Where is who?" Atticus glared back, not backing down.

"You know who!" Amos glared. "That confounded fox! He almost killed Chief, and I'm gonna get him! You all can't keep him locked up forever!"

"Tod didn't do anything wrong!" Atticus glared back. "And neither did Patch or the other dogs!"

"That's right!" Mo added.

Big Mama, Boomer, and Dinky all looked concerned as they heard this from a tree branch not too far away. Widow Tweed had to admit that Amos was partly right, but she didn't show any sign of weakness while Tod hid away.

"Ms. Tweed, what do we do?" Mo asked.

"It breaks my heart, but... I think it's time to let Tod go..." Widow Tweed said in a somber voice.

Atticus, Mo, and Cherry knew how hard this was going to be for her."Oh, it's hard to imagine I once had a life before Tod came into it," Widow Tweed mused to the children. "I've had quite a lonesome life ever since my husband passed away."

"We know how hard this is going to be." Cherry said.

"Trust me, it will..." Widow Tweed frowned softly.

"Would you mind if we helped?" Mo asked.

"Oh, I couldn't make you all do that..." Widow Tweed smiled sadly.

"We want to." Cherry said.

"Well... All right... Why don't you go home, get some sleep, and meet me here in the morning?" Widow Tweed suggested.

"Yes, ma'am." Mo said.

Everyone agreed to this and decided to get some sleep while Widow Tweed prepared to send Tod away into the wild which felt very heartbreaking for her.

"This reminds me of the movie with the bear that JJ wanted to watch when I babysat him the other night." Mo said softly.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day soon came. Cherry groaned as she woke up early, but she soon went to get ready to join the others so they could take Tod back into the wild where he belonged and so that Amos would stop bothering and blaming him. Patch, Collette, Scamp, Annette, and Danielle were even going with them. Widow Tweed came out of her house with Tod and saw the others had come right on time. Tod smiled innocently as he had no idea what was going to happen to him today.

"Well, here we go." Mo frowned.

"I wonder where we're going?" Tod smiled. "I just love riding in the car!"

Patch and the others weren't sure how to tell him. Widow Tweed smiled at Tod, trying to keep strong, but on the inside, she was quite emotional. They drove to a deep part of the forest. Tod was just excited to be in the car, but soon, his happiness would deteriorate into sadness. Tod soon saw that Widow Tweed looked sad and did what he could to comfort her, not sure why she was sad though. 

Eventually, Widow Tweed stopped her car and carried Tod in her arms and came to drop him off in the forest. Atticus and the others soon joined them. Even Cherry looked a little sad by this sight. Tod smiled all around until he saw the sad, grim faces on everyone else. Widow Tweed soon set him down, removed his collar, and gave him one last hug. Everyone else did the same thing to Tod.

Widow Tweed soon got up to go and Tod was about to follow her, but she made it clear that she didn't want him to follow her. Tod looked so curious and confused as Widow Tweed went back into her car to drive back home and make Tod stay behind. Atticus and the others knew this was for the best. Widow Tweed looked back one last time as she drove back home while Tod would stay here. And of course, to make things worse, the wind began to blow and it began to drizzle.

"Sh-She left me..." Tod said in sadness before going to lay under a tree for shelter.

Patch and the others felt horrible for leaving Tod in the woods alone.

"Should we stay with him to help?" Scamp asked.

"I feel like maybe we should..." Patch replied.

"Well, he has been with Widow Tweed almost all his life." Collette said.

"So, we're staying in the woods?" Angel asked.

"Just until Tod can get on his feet." Danielle nodded, trying to use an expression.

"Eh, close enough." Patch said to the tomboy cocker spaniel.

Tod was trying to look around for a shelter to stay in as it rained, seeing the other animals do that. He soon saw what looked like that could be perfect shelter.

"Poor Tod must be so confused and lost." Annette frowned.

Tod hid into the place he found only to get pushed out.

"Hold it, sonny, back off!" A badger glared at Tod. "Consarn it! Where? Where do you think you're goin'?"

Patch and the others soon came to Tod's aide.

"O-Oh, excuse me," Tod nervously told the angry badger. "I-I-I was just trying to--"

"You barge in on somebody's house like you own it," The badger glared as a porcupine walked by. "Tarryhootin' around them woods, wakin' up folks in the middle of the night."

"He didn't know it was your home, sir." Patch told the badger.

"Oh, all of you, get off my property!" The badger glared. "Come on, beat it!"

"I've been watching you all," The porcupine smiled. "You can stay with me if you want to."

"Thank you." Angel smiled back.

"How very nice of you." Scamp added.

"Come with me." The porcupine smiled back, and led them into his home. 

The fox and the dogs soon followed after the kind porcupine.

"Though while we were sleeping in the woods, Amos had something in mind for Tod." Patch's voice said.

Scruffy and Dot gulped about that.

The dogs went to sleep with Tod and the porcupine for the night, they were sure that their owners would be all right without them, besides, they already talked about this before Widow Tweed came to drop them off.

"I thought Uncle Tod was gonna live with his Uncle Nick and Aunt Judy?" Scruffy asked his parents.

"Well, if he did, then how would he have met your Aunt Vixey?" Collette asked before covering her mouth playfully.

"What?!" Scruffy and Dot asked.

"I'm confused... So... Is this before or after Nick and Judy?" Scruffy asked.

"After," Patch said. "They are even in this story."

"Oh... Okay... Sorry... I just couldn't help but think about them." Scruffy smiled sheepishly.

Back in the story, Tod and the other dogs were fast asleep with the porcupine for the cold and rainy night. Danielle couldn't help but think about Copper, showing that she really missed him and even dreamed about him. Tod was soon quickly uncomfortable due to the porcupine's quills which seemed to wake him up. 

"Tod?!" Patch asked as he suddenly woke up.

Colette woke up right after him, almost like instinctively. Scamp, Annette, and Danielle soon woke up next.

"Uh, you okay, Tod?" Patch winced for the fox's pain.

"That porcupine kinda got too close..." Tod winced from the sharp quills as he was soon about to take a walk out.

"Oh, Tod, be careful!" Annette warned.

Unfortunately, Tod had fell from where they were and back into where he tried to walk into.

"Oh, no..." The dogs frowned as they knew what that meant.

Tod was soon pushed out of the way by brute force.

"So, it's you again?" The badger glared at the fox. "You barged in on me last night, and now you--"

"He didn't mean to land in your home." Patch interrupted.

"Just look at the mess you made," The badger scolded. "Dagnabit, you clumsy bonehead!"

"I'm sorry," Tod frowned as he fell into a small puddle of water. "It was just an accident."

"Excuses! Excuses!" The badger shook his head.

"It was so an accident!" The dogs barked as they arrived at the bottom.

"Uh, Mr. Digger, sir?" The porcupine even defended Tod. "It was so too an accident!"

"You keep outta this, you walking pin cushion!" The badger glared up at the porcupine.

"You shouldn't be so grumpy to someone who's new in the neighborhood." The porcupine advised, even though he was hiding.

"That's right!" The dogs agreed.

"A stranger, huh?" The badger snarled before glaring at Tod. "Why don't you go back where you came from?!"

Tod felt so angry, sad, and confused all at once that he couldn't properly respond to that since Widow Tweed 'abandoned' him, so he simply walked away from the cranky old badger.

"Well, go on, get goin', git!" The badger glared to Tod like he was useless.

Scamp was about to do something to the badger's home for how he treated Tod. 

"Scamp, don't, he's not worth our time." Angel told her boyfriend.

"Dang it." Scamp groaned.

"Come on, let's just go, he is a grouch though." Angel replied.

Scamp firmly nodded as they soon walked together. Tod sulked as he felt miserable to be in the forest and wanted to go back home, but he wouldn't be allowed to. Patch soon saw four figures.

"Patch?" Colette asked.

"I think we have company." Patch told his girlfriend.

Of course, Patch was right, and he even recognized, well, three of the figures, but the final one didn't seem familiar at all to him. Tod looked absolutely miserable that he didn't even see the four figures just yet.

"Oh... And who do we have here?" Danielle asked the figures who came from the bushes.

"I'm Vixey, and is that sad fox over there, Tod?" The female fox asked them.

"Yes, this is our friend, Tod." Danielle nodded to the young female fox who was around Tod's age.

"Big Mama said I should come over and help cheer him up." Vixey told the others.

Big Mama and a familiar bunny and the rest of the female dogs soon had an idea.

"Oh, you guys, I don't know..." Vixey giggled.

"Now, don't worry about it, besides, you look beautiful." Judy smiled.

"Thank you~" Vixey giggled to the girls who helped her.

Big Mama and the others soon went over to Tod and where this would be a surprise for him to see Nick and Judy and later on, would surprise him with their engagement.


	6. Chapter 6

"Morning, Tod!" Big Mama smiled to the male fox.

"Oh, hello, Big Mama." Tod replied miserably.

"Hey, kiddo." Nick smiled.

"Huh?" Tod asked before looking to the older male fox. "U-Uncle Nick?"

"You look a little down." Nick said.

"Well... I am..." Tod sighed softly. "Widow left me."

"Ooh, that's tough." Nick winced.

"I don't know why she did... Maybe I was too much trouble..." Tod frowned.

"Oh, I don't believe that," Nick told him. "Unlike me, kid, you were always very well-behaved, sweet, and helpful... I was a bit of a troublemaker as a kid, if you can believe that."

"I did my research on humans and it says that humans usually set most animals who belong out in the wild/woods back into the woods so they can learn how to fend for themselves." Judy spoke up.

"Aunt Judy?" Tod asked. "You're here too?"

Nick and Judy smiled and nodded together to the former young fox kit.

"But what about Zootopia?" Tod asked them.

"We got some vacation time." Nick said.

"Well, I'm really glad to see you guys," Tod smiled wearily. "At least somebody still loves me."

"Ah, Tod, your human loves you," Judy soothed. "She did this because she loves you!"

Tod frowned, not feeling too sure about that. Big Mama soon decided to move the plan along. Vixey soon stood against the sunlight which soon attracted Tod.

"Whoa... W-Who i-is that...?" Tod whispered. 

"Oh, just another fox," Big Mama smiled as she cleaned him up while he was astonished at the vixen. "A lady fox~"

"Golly, is she beautiful," Toes smiled. "I-I wonder what her name is."

"Well, why don't you go ask her?" Big Mama smirked slightly.

"Y-Yeah... Guess... Guess I will..." Tod said as he soon came toward the beautiful vixen.

'The plan's working.' Judy thought to herself.

"I'll go up to her and I'll say, 'You're the most gorgeous'," Tod recited to himself as he walked up to Vixey. "'The most beautiful. Never seen anyone, anywhere'... I'll say... Hi."

"Hello." Vixey smiled. 

The two then accidentally talked over each other which made them both laugh.

'Love.' Patch thought to himself.

"May I call you by your first name?" Tod asked shyly.

"Oh, oh, sure, why not?" Vixey smiled. 

"Thanks... W-What is your first name?" Tod smiled back.

"Vixey." The female fox replied.

"Vixey," Tod smiled out of love. "My name is, uh, T-Tod."

"Tod?" Vixey smiled back. "That's a nice name... Tod..."

"Isn't it beautiful, Nick?" Judy smiled.

"It sure does, Carrots." Nick smiled back, still giving her that nickname.

"So romantic." Collette sighed.

Patch smiled, laying against her slightly. Scamp and Angel did the same. Danielle frowned as she thought about Copper, feeling left out right now. Big Mama felt happy that Tod and Vixey were together.

"Say, it looks like that farm boy is makin' it big with her." Boomer chuckled.

"Now just keep it down!" Big Mama whispered loudly as she closed his beak.

"Well, Tod, you know something?" Vixey smiled to Tod as she looked down into the water. "This stream is just full of trout. Do you think you could catch one?"

"One what?" Tod asked while still in love.

"One what?" Vixey repeated with a giggle. "Fish, silly!"

"Oh, oh, yeah!" Tod replied. "Oh, yeah. My dear young lady, you happen to be looking at an expert fisher fox."

"Well, I believe he's your nephew now." Judy teased Nick.

"He's about to embarrass himself." Patch face-pawed.

Tod leapt onto a log in the stream. "I know all the tricks. In fact, I never miss."

"This can only end so well." Annette deadpanned slightly.

"Oh, here comes a whopper, now, watch closely!" Tod grinned to the big fish to show Vixey what he could do and slammed his paw into the water, accidentally splashing the vixen. He soon tried to get the fish only to keep on missing.

"Tod, do you need help?" Vixey offered.

"No. No, I do it this way all all the all the time!" Tod smiled, though he kept missing the fish. "I got him." He only seemed to have caught a stick instead of the fish and which was funny.

"Oh, that farm boy, he don't know nothin' about fishin'!" Boomer laughed.

Dinky soon laughed with the woodpecker and Tod looked into his mouth and spit out the stick. Not even Vixey could resist laughing.

"Go ahead, go ahead, and laugh!" Tod glared as tried to swim out of the water. "You're like everyone else around here!"

Patch and the others tried to resist the urge to laugh.

"Oh, Tod, sorry, I can't help it," Vixey giggled. "You are so funny!"

"So, I can't fish!" Tod glared since he didn't like being laughed at. "You're a silly, empty-headed female!"

"What did you call her?!" Annette, Collette, Danielle, and Judy glared.

"Now just a minute," Vixey glared. "I mean, you've got a nerve. Why don't you grow up?"

"Tod, that's no way to talk to Vixey." Big Mama scolded.

"Oh, raspberries; I've had it!" Tod glared as he dripped.

'Oh, this is bad.' Scamp thought to himself.

"Kiddo, I know things seem tough, but you can't get mad like that." Nick advised his grown nephew.

"He's right." Patch said.

"You have to be natural." Annette advised.

"That's the trick." Big Mama agreed.

Vixey looked back at Tod, but turned away, still mad at him. Tod looked still angry with Vixey, but found himself unable to stay mad at her. He soon came into a field of flowers and decided to pick one.

"That's the power of love~" Patch randomly sang before chuckling.

Tod soon tried to offer the flower to Vixey. Vixey soon turned her head away from him. Eventually, she sniffed the flower and she let out a sneeze. Tod also sneezed, dropping the flower. Vixey soon forgave him and nuzzled up against him.

"Aw!" The girls smiled.

Big Mama then shooed away Boomer and Dinky so that Tod and Vixey could be alone. Patch and the others soon did the same thing.

"So, this is the famous Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde?" Annette asked.

"That's them all right," Patch smiled. "Judy is the first bunny cop, and Nick helps her out in the ZPD."

"It's true." Nick said.

"So, what?" Annette asked Judy. "Can rabbits not be cops in the world?"

"Well, it's mostly a job for a bigger animal, so no one really took me seriously when I moved into Zootopia." Judy told her.

"Really?" Danielle asked.

"Oh, yes," Judy smiled. "It's quite an amazing story. No one back home thought I could do it, but I've always believed in myself! Like my favorite pop singer Gazelle always says 'Try Everything'."

Nick and Judy began to tell them everyone. Tod and Vixey soon began to bond with each other in the forest.

"And that's how your Uncle Tod met your Aunt Vixey." Colette smiled to Scruffy and Dot. 

"Aw!" Dot smiled.

"Yawn." Scruffy muttered.

"Aw, come on, Scruffy, every story needs a break from tension." Patch told his son. 

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Scruffy rolled his eyes.

Patch and Collette just sighed to their son before continuing the story.

"And so, Nick signed up and joined the force to be with me, and we've been partners ever since." Judy soon concluded her story to the dogs who weren't there. 

"Is that a ring a see?" Collette asked Judy as she saw her wearing an engagement ring.

"So, you've noticed." Judy smiled.

"You mean... You and Nick...?" Patch asked. 

Judy nodded happily. 

"When did you two get engaged?" Scamp asked.

"Well, that's another interesting story," Judy replied in great detail, almost like the others could picture this happening in their minds. "There was a robbery in a Honey Bank about two months ago with vicious bees and a bear bank teller was held hostage. I decided to go in, though the others warned me it might be dangerous, but I wasn't going to let anyone stop me, now that I became the world's first bunny cop. However, it did get too dangerous, and soon enough, Nick came to help me. I was a little hurt from the stinging, but nothing too severe. Nick took my paw and helped me and he was so relieved that I was okay. We shared a hug, and he soon got down on one knee and revealed this ring to me and asked me the question I never thought I would hear in my life." 

"I asked her to make me the happiest fox in the world and marry me." Nick smiled.

Judy smiled back, turning pink in her fuzzy cheeks slightly. The others smiled to that as they 'oohed' and chuckled for the future happy couple. 

"So, I'm guessing you two want to ask Tod to either be the ring bearer or the best man?" Patch guessed.

"Well, since he's a bit too old to be a ring bearer, I suppose he could be my best man," Nick replied. "He's a much better buddy than Finnick was." 

"What ever happened to him?" Patch asked.

"I never really saw him again after I joined the ZPD." Nick shrugged. 

"Guess he didn't want the cops to bust him for any illegal things he might do." Scamp said.

"That was always my guess." Nick nodded.

Later on, Tod and Vixey came back as they shared alone time together, seeming almost like soulmates. 

"Aw!" The girls smiled.

"Danielle, you've grown up so much," Annette smiled to her tomboy sister. "You usually hate this love stuff!" 

"I know, right?" Danielle smiled back.

"Aw, our Dani's all grown up~" Colette added.

"Shut up!" Danielle blushed.

Colette, Annette, and Angel just giggled to that.

"While we were all now having a good time; Amos and Copper began to make their way to where we were." Patch's voice narrated.

"Is this the scary part?!" Dot begged to know.

"Nope," Collette said. "Not yet."

"Oh, when will it be there already?" Dot groaned. "The suspense is hurting me!"

"Keep telling the story." Scruffy said as he frowned and tried to comfort his sister, even if the love story part of the story was boring him.

"Should we go home now?" Angel asked as Tod and Vixey were running through a field together in perfect harmony.

"Not sure." Collette said.

"It looks good to go, but something tells me something will happen later that'll be big." Patch replied.

"Well, if Patch says we should stay, I think we should stay." Collette said to her siblings since she was the closest to Patch.

"Okay." Scamp said.

Patch walked around the forest with the others, though Collette stayed beside him just to keep safe.

"Ya seem like a forest survivalist, Patch." Danielle said.

"What can I say?" Patch replied. "Adventures help out."

"Yeah, I can see that." Scamp agreed.

"Say, didn't you guys get lost in a forest once?" Danielle asked Patch and Collette.

"Um... Well... Not that lost..." Patch smiled sheepishly. "We were just helping out The Buddies."

"Yeah." Collette added.

"How very reassuring." Annette deadpanned. 

Collette looked firm to her older sister.

"I think it sounds cool!" Danielle beamed.

"Same here." Angel said.

"I didn't want an adventure." Annette mumbled.'

"Aw, come on, Anne, step out of your comfort zone," Danielle smiled, showing her true tomboy side. "I love rollin' around in dirt, gettin' chased, and sleeping on the ground!" 

"You take so much after Dad." Annette rolled her eyes.

"I sure do." Danielle smiled.

"Oy..." Annette sighed as she missed home already due to being a prim and proper dog like Lady was, though a little bit of before when she met Tramp.

Nick and Judy walked together, but heard something in the distance and soon hid as they saw a certain human who had metal traps.

"That's not good." Nick whispered.

"I can't believe some humans actually hunt us like they're criminal predators." Judy whispered back.

"We better warn the others." Nick whispered back.

Judy nodded and followed Nick away from Amos as he laid out dangerous hunting traps. Amos soon took his gun and hid away while Copper sniffed out any possible prey, and where he could smell a familiar scent of Tod. 

"Have you kids seen Tod?" Nick asked the dogs.

"Oh, um, sorry, Mr. Wilde, but we've let him and Vixey be alone together." Collette replied.

"This could be bad!" Nick panicked.

"Why?" Angel asked.

"We saw these sharp metal things and this human laid them out for Tod." Judy replied.

"Human... Sharp Metal Things..." Patch muttered until his eyes widened. "Slade! He's back!"

"And those metal things must be cages or bear traps." Collette gulped.

"Where did you last see Tod?!" Nick yelped.

"Hmm... I saw him and Vixey go by the meadow, but..." Scamp replied only to shrug.

"Oh, I can't lose Tod!" Nick cried out. "I already lost his mother, I can't risk losing him!"

Patch and the others began to sniff for Tod. Nick panicked and looked quite, quite paranoid.

"It'll be all right, Nick, I'm sure it will be." Judy soothed as she took his paw, gently squeezing it.

"You're probably right." Nick said.

"It'll be all right." Judy soothed.

Nick soon took a deep breath and put his other paw on top of Judy's paw holding his.

"We should go find them." Scamp said.

"Come on then, they couldn't have gone too far." Patch replied.

They soon went off to find Tod and/or Vixey so it wouldn't be too late.


	7. Chapter 7

They searched for a little while until they found them watching a duck and some ducklings walking by. 

"Hello, duckies..." Danielle cooed with a small smile. "A duck walked up to a lemonade stand, And he said to the man, running the stand, 'Hey! Got any grapes'?~" she then randomly sang from one of Junior's childhood favorite nursery rhymes.

Hearing this caused the duck and ducklings to look confused.

"Uh, have you guys seen a couple of foxes around here?" Collette asked the duck family.

The duck family soon pointed to the fox couple next to them.

"Heh... Thanks." Collette smiled.

The duck in front nodded with a smile back

"Hey, guys." Tod smiled.

"Tod, thank Gabriel you're all right." Patch gasped.

"Uh, yeah, of course I am, why wouldn't I be?" Tod asked the Dalmatian.

"Amos Slade is here and so is Copper." Patch told him.

"What?" Tod asked. "Are you sure?"

"Judy and I saw them along with some bear traps." Nick said.

"Uh, b-bear traps...?" Tod asked nervously.

"We're sorry, Tod, but we had to tell you." Judy replied as her ears drooped down in worry for him.

"Maybe we should go somewhere safe." Vixey frowned.

Tod looked torn on what to do.

"Come on, let's go this way, kid, I wanna talk to you about something anyway." Nick told Tod.

"Um, okay." Tod said.

"Come on, this way." Nick told his nephew.

Tod looked back, but soon followed the others away out of Amos's trap, and which was a good thing. 

"What is going on?" Vixey asked.

"Hunters, trust me, this way." Nick urged.

Judy nodded in agreement with him. There was a light growling heard in the background.

"Uh-oh..." Scamp gulped.

"D-Did you hear that?" Angel asked him. "It almost makes me think of Reggie."

"Yeah, but luckily it's not." Scamp gulped, remembering that all too well.

"Then it must be...." Danielle gulped before looking to see who it was.

Copper soon came out, looking aggressive and angry which made Tod react the same way. The two looked more like natural enemies now.

"Tod, wait, let me try to talk with him." Danielle begged the fox.

Tod growled before looking to the tomboy cocker spaniel. Danielle had dewy eyes as she looked into his eyes. Tod then stepped down and let Danielle talk with Copper.

"Copper, please, don't do this." Danielle begged the hound dog.

"D-Danielle...?" Copper softly asked the tomboy cocker spaniel.

"Copper, please, Tod's your best friend," Danielle begged. "Please don't fight him or hurt him."

"I'm sorry, but I have to fight him," Copper said. "Tod hurt Chief... You all did on the train tracks."

"Not exactly," Patch told him. "He was hit by a train that was coming."

"What?!" Copper asked.

"It's true, you just happened to see the wrong end of it..." Danielle said. "I'm really sorry, Copper, but Tod, and the others, and me didn't do anything."

"It's true." Annette said.

Copper merely glared at them.

"You have to believe us..." Danielle said softly to him before nuzzling up against him. "We would never lie to you."

Copper glared, but he looked into Danielle's eyes as she looked sullen to him. He then seemed to soften up a little bit since she was begging to him.

"So, did Uncle Copper believe Aunt Danielle?" Dot's voice asked.

"He did, with the power of love, though, it wasn't so easy for Mr. Slade." Patch's voice replied.

Amos had his gun aimed for Tod and began to shoot.

"This way!" Vixey told him as she led him away to get away from the gunshots.

Tod soon followed after her. Vixey led them into a burrow where they could all hide away from the hunter.

"Oh, Patch, I don't like guns." Collette cried.

"Oh, don't cry..." Patch frowned to her, but eventually, Collette cried as she felt very emotional and depressed about the use of a gun.

"Let me guess, this will be your home?" Nick asked Tod and Vixey.

"We were thinking about it, after all, this is where I live." Vixey replied.

"The forest does look beautiful when a hunter isn't trying to hunt us down." Judy said.

"Glad ya think so, Carrots." Nick smiled.

"You guys will be able to live here, because we'll make sure of it." Patch promised, trying to sound as brave and heroic as his father.

"Does anyone else smell fire?" Collette asked as she smelled smoke.

"F-Fire...?" Patch's eyes widened.

Flames soon came into the burrow to scare them all out.

"Guys, we're trapped!" Vixey gasped and coughed. "Tod, I'm scared!"

"We'll have to try and jump through it." Angel coughed.

"J-Jump?" Vixey asked.

"Come on, Vixey, this is our only chance!" Tod told her. 

They soon jumped through and where Amos was surprised by this. However, one didn't make it out.

"I don't believe it!" Amos gasped. "Copper, go get 'em!"

"Danielle..." Copper whispered to himself. "She's still in there..."

Copper soon jumped in and rescued Danielle. One of Danielle's bows got caught in something, making her stuck in the burrow. Copper coughed a bit and soon bit onto Danielle's collar to drag her out to safety. She was soon able to breathe once she was put of the burrow. Copper gently splashed some water on her.

Danielle coughed again and looked up wearily and bleary-eyed to the hound dog. "Copper...?" she asked softly.

"Thank goodness." Copper sighed.

"I got stuck..." Danielle said softly. 

"I'm so sorry..." Copper replied as he nuzzled against her. "It's all right now."

Danielle smiled as the Copper she loved was back. Copper smiled back, he soon felt something deep inside of himself and felt quite different around Danielle. Danielle and Copper soon caught the scent of something big and furry coming.

"Do you smell what I smell?" Copper asked her.

"Yeah, but I hope I'm wrong." Danielle said with widened eyes.

They both soon heard a growling sound.

"Dare we go check it out?" Danielle gulped.

"I'd rather not." Copper said.

The two dogs then went to get away from the vicious growling as they feared the worst.

The growling, in fact, came from a black bear who was looking for prey which was never a good sign, and where the unlucky one was Amos Slade. Danielle and Copper walked off together, but the hound dog soon stopped.

"Copper?" Danielle asked.

"Amos..." Copper whispered in worry for his human. "I have to help him."

Danielle could understand why Copper needed to save his master. "You better go then..." she then softly told him, not wanting to hold him back.

Copper soon gave her a lick on the cheek. Danielle's eyes widened and she blushed, feeling her heart race inside her chest. Was this what her mother told her about love?

"Is this the scary part?" Dot's voice asked.

"Yes, Dot, this is getting to the scary part." Patch warned.

Dot soon gulped as she huddled to Scruffy.

"Aw, it'll be all right, Dottie..." Collette said.

"Do you mind if I take a quick break from the story?" Dot asked. "I think I need a minute."

"Go ahead, sweetie." Patch smiled comfortingly, almost like his sister Penny's bond with their father when they were puppies.

Dot soon walked away to have a moment to herself.

"It's so nice of you to comfort your sister, Scruffy." Patch smiled.

"Well, she's my sister, I gotta look out for her..." Scruffy replied. "Even though Fluffy and Spot don't live here anymore... Anyone know who adopted them?"

"For Fluffy, I don't know, but a woman named Moonray adopted Spot for 'spiritual guidance' for her daughters," Collette said as the woman sounded like a hippie. "I feel like your brother's gonna end up like Buddha from The Air Buddies."

"Sounds like it." Scruffy said.

Dot sat alone as she stared out the window, looking at the world. "I wish I could be brave like Mom, Dad, and Scruffy..." she then sighed. "I bet even Grandma Perdita was braver than I am... I'll never go on any real adventures with Estelle someday."

A light seemed to shine down on Dot as she lay down.

Dot sighed before staring off into space before looking into the clouds to see a pink whippet angel who had a small smile to her to help cheer her up and teach her to never give up hope. "W-Who are you?" she then asked.

"My name is Annabelle, my child," The whippet angel smiled. "You seem like you need guidance, why would someone as happy and healthy as you need to be down in the dumps?"

Dot had a feeling she could trust her. Annabelle smiled.

"Are you an angel?" Dot asked the whippet.

"Oh, you could say that," Annabelle smiled. "Aw... You look so pretty... Just like how Gabriel made you before you were born."

Dot smiled at that compliment.

"You'll do fine on your own adventures someday, my child," Annabelle smiled back. "When your parents first watched The Air Buddies, they weren't too sure about it either, but look at where they ended up. Also, not to mention two certain wolves you may meet in the future, and I don't just mean Balto and his family."

"You mean Humphrey and Kate?" Dot asked.

"Those would be the ones." Annabelle smiled.

"Ooh." Dot smiled back in excitement and anticipation.

"It'll be like your own adventure in the wild, like the first time your parents watched over The Buddies." Annabelle smiled back.

"Yay!" Dot smiled.

"Well, someone suddenly likes the sound of a good adventure," Annabelle smiled back. "You would make a wonderful Guardian Angel in the future."

Dot smiled back at her.

"I best get going now," Annabelle told her. "Be good, I know you will, ta-ta for now~"

"Goodbye..." Dot said before sighing with a small smile. "Nothing like talk from an angel to make you feel better about yourself." She soon went back inside.

"Feeling better, dear?" Collette smiled.

"I think so, Mom," Dot nodded. "You can continue telling the story, Dad."

"Thank you, now, um, where was I?" Patch replied.

"Uncle Copper went to save his master." Scruffy reminded.

"Oh, yes, that's right..." Patch nodded, getting back into the story.


	8. Chapter 8

Danielle shivered nervously from the growling as she feared the worst, but she hoped that Copper would be alright.

"Stay here." Copper told Danielle before going towards who was growling which was a black bear.

"Oh, Copper, be okay." Danielle begged.

Copper began to growl at the black bear. Danielle may had been a rough and tough tomboy, but seeing the black bear startled her. Amos shook nervously and tried to shoot at the bear, just hitting its shoulder which made it roar even louder. The bear snarled and came closer to the hunter with beady red eyes, but with Copper helping Amos, it was challenging for the bear. Danielle covered her face with her paws, shaking slightly in fear.

Amos slid down from the cliff and even got his gun trapped and his foot got caught in one of his traps as the bear came closer and closer toward him. Copper growled and soon attacked the bear despite the bear being bigger and more terrifying than him. Danielle began into pray that Copper wouldn't get hurt. She just couldn't bare to watch, no pun intended. The bear whacked Copper off. Copper was not hurt, but continued to growl at the black bear. Amos grunted and struggled as he had a hard time getting his own trap off of his foot during the fight between Copper and the bear. Patch and the others began to worry about Copper.

"I just can't look," Danielle whimpered. "Tell me when it's over."

"You got it, Dani." Angel soothed.

Copper and the black bear continued to fight to what looked like the death. Tod even looked worried for his best friend. The black bear soon punched Copper down which made the hound dog whimper and whine.

"Tod!" Vixey called out.

Tod was about to go with her, but seeing his best friend tore him apart on the inside. Patch and the others soon went to save Copper.

"Copper..." Danielle whimpered.

"Be strong, Danielle, I know you can do it." Annette encouraged.

Danielle took a deep breath before joining in to save Copper. Copper was thrown down by a rock and looked rather hurt. Danielle growled and ran toward the bear, jumping up and biting at its leg. And where this caught the bear's attention. Danielle growled as she glared up at the black bear for hurting Copper.

"Charge!" Patch's voice called out.

The bear looked over. The dogs all then charged together towards the black bear.

"We might be puppies anymore, but we should give him a dose of our own Puppy Power!" Annette proclaimed, almost like Scrappy Doo.

Tod even joined in on the fight against the bear. It was a graphic fight, and even though they were dogs, more of them did much better against the black bear than just Copper. Patch soon saw the water fall and had an idea and whispered it to Collette and told her to pass it onto the next dog. Collette passed it on until they came to the final dog as they fought the black bear, and where they fought him all the way up to a tree that was close to the edge, leading to where the waterfall was heading. The black bear snarled. Tod soon tackled him down to the edge, but he seemed to be going with the bear down the edge into the waterfall.

"TOD!" Everyone else cried out as Tod fell with the black bear.

They soon rushed down to where the waterfall ended. There was a huge splash heard.

Patch and the others sat on the shore to wait for an outcome. Eventually, it was Tod who came out of the water and the black bear had been defeated.

"Oh, thank goodness." Collette sighed out of relief.

Tod had trouble walking, but he was still alive. Nick and Judy rushed over to help him out.

"I think he broke a leg." Judy said to Nick and the others.

"You sure?" Collette asked.

"I'm not positive, but there has to be some injury, he's having trouble walking." Judy replied.

Copper and Danielle soon came together to see their fallen fox friend. There was soon the clicking of a gun heard and everyone looked up to see Amos glaring as he was about to shoot Tod dead. Patch and the others soon got in Amos's way.

"Come on, Copper, get out of the way." Amos told the hound dog.

Copper soon stood over Tod to protect him as they were best friends. He even included a whimper as a begging to Amos to not shoot Tod.

Amos glared to Tod, but didn't want to also shoot Copper, and hoped the hound dog would get out of the way, but of course, he wouldn't. His face soon softened as he found himself unable to shoot. "Well... Come on, boy..." he then said gently as he put his weapon down and pet his dog. "Let's go home." He of course had to limp the rest of the way with what happened.

Copper soon began to follow his human back home, but then stopped. Nick and Judy then helped Tod on dry land as he seemed hurt. Tod looked to them before looking at Copper and giving him a small smile. Copper smiled back to Tod before he continued on.

"I'm confused; why didn't they say goodbye?" Danielle asked.

"Maybe it would be too sad?" Patch guessed.

Nick and Judy soon brought Tod over to where they were staying in the forest to check him over for any injuries from the black bear fight, luckily he didn't break any of his legs or body parts.

"You have a small sprain, you're very lucky." Judy told Tod.

"Thanks, Aunt Judy," Tod smiled wearily. "I can still call you that, right?"

"Of course you can; in fact, your uncle has something to ask you." Judy said.

"W-What is it, Uncle Nick?" Tod asked.

"Well... As you know, we're planning on getting married," Nick smiled to his nephew. "We were wondering if you'd like to help out in the wedding with a special job."

"What kind of job?" Tod asked.

"Oh... I was thinking maybe, since you're older, you could be my best man... Er... Fox?" Nick replied.

"Really?" Tod smiled. "You want me to be your best fox?"

"I wouldn't want it any other way, kiddo." Nick smiled back.

"Oh, Uncle Nick, thank you," Tod beamed. "I'd love to!"

This seemed to be like an ending to a new beginning.

Dot and Scruffy both smiled to that.

The next morning came in the forest. The dogs were fast asleep until they groaned and heard pecking from a certain woodpecker, and where they woke up, ready to stop the annoying bird.

"I'm gonna tear his feathers off," Patch growled. "He's more annoying than Daffy Duck."

"Hey, that name sounds like Danger Duck from when Akito and Estelle met The Loonatics!" Scruffy's voice spoke up.

"That's because Daffy was Danger Duck's ancestor." Patch's voice said.

"Oh... I knew that..." Scruffy said.

Dot just rolled her eyes to that.

The dogs glared as they came up to the tree.

"Shh, this is it!" Dinky told Boomer. "We got him for sure now!"

"Guys, I think you might be surprised by what you find." Patch said.

"Duh, what makes ya say that?" Boomer asked. "Oh, my g-gosh!"

There seemed to be magic going on inside the tree which startled the two birds.

"What happened...?" Dinky asked.

Eventually, out came a butterfly.

"You see?" Patch told the two birds. "He became a butterfly."

The butterfly smiled all around before flying away from the birds who had been stalking him for a long time now.

"I wonder how Mr. Slade is doing?" Danielle said.

"Maybe he has a change of heart?" Collette replied.

"I doubt it... People can't change like that..." Annette said.

"You and Scrappy turned evil that one time before you both had to be sent away," Patch reminded. "By the way, where did you guys go anyway after you got in trouble?"

"Scooby's sister sent us to stay with her other brother named Yabba Doo and Deputy Dusty in Tumbleweed County." Annette explained.

They soon heard Amos's voice. This made them all turn over as their ears seemed to prick up.

They found the man groaning and whining as Widow Tweed was bandaging him up.

"What a baby." Danielle scoffed.

"Will you hold still?" Widow Tweed giggled. "You're behaving like a child!"

"For gosh sake's, your hurtin' my foot, woman!" Amos complained.

"If he would hold still, it wouldn't hurt as much." Collette whispered to the others.

"That's always such a hard lesson for some to learn." Patch nodded.

"I think Chief acted like a pup while he was injured." Annette said.

"Huh, he's sure making a big fuss over a hurt little leg." Chief scoffed as he sat beside Copper in their barrels.

Copper smirked and shook his head to the older dog, and looked a little sleepy. Danielle, seeing Copper sleepy, made her sleepy.

"You've had an exhausting time, why don't you go join him?" Annette offered.

Danielle seemed to already do just that. The others allowed her to go. Danielle soon got settled in to lay down next to Copper and soon fell asleep right next to him. Copper looked over to her before smiling and falling back asleep, and where it was a new beginning for them. Tod watched from a ledge before Vixey, Nick, and Judy came to join him. Vixey soon nuzzled up against Tod to comfort him since he wasn't allowed back there. Tod soon smiled to her and nuzzled her back.


	9. Chapter 9

"So, when's your wedding day?" Nick asked Tod and Vixey playfully.

"What?!" Tod and Vixey yelped.

Nick chuckled innocently as the two blushed.

"Oh, don't worry, you have time to think about that." Judy giggled to the younger fox couple.

"By the way, Vixey, what did you mean by 'six' after counting those ducklings two days ago?" Tod asked the vixen.

"Oh, uh, nothing too important, just counting." Vixey smiled sheepishly and innocently.

"Um, okay?" Tod said out of confusion.

"You weren't planning on having six kits, were you?" Judy asked. 

Vixey giggled bashfully to that. Tod seemed to blush as he had a feeling by the way of how Vixey giggled.

"Would you also like to come to the wedding?" Judy offered to Vixey.

"Oh, I'd love to!" Vixey smiled. "Thank you... Um... Hmm... What should I call you?"

"Judy's fine." The female bunny smiled back.

"Well then, I'd love to Judy." Vixey smiled.

Judy smiled back as this was sure going to be a wedding to remember.

"Is Cotton gonna come too?" Tod asked about Judy's bunny niece who was very close with her and vice versa.

"Oh, no doubt, after all, she's my favorite niece." Judy smiled.

"Oh, how adorable~" Vixey cooed at the mention of Cotton.

Judy and Vixey giggled together, going off to have some fun together as a girl's time.

"Girls... Am I right, Uncle Nick?" Tod asked.

"Yep..." Nick replied. "They're strange creatures sometimes."

"Can we get to the wedding part?" Dot's voice asked.

"Okay, okay, if you insist." Patch's voice chuckled.

"Ugh, this is gonna be mushy, isn't it?" Scruffy rolled his eyes. "I like the story of when you got to let The Air Buddies meet Krypto the Superdog during Bartleby's birthday."

"Oh, come along now, Scruffy..." Collette's voice said.

"It's all love and kissy stuff..." Scruffy groaned until he soon saw Dot giving him the puppy dog eyes look.

"Augh!" he then groaned a lot like Donkey when Shrek wanted Puss in Boots to come on their adventure in Far, Far Away.

"So...?" Dot smiled to her brother.

"Fine... Tell us the fox and bunny wedding..." Scruffy gave in with a groan.

"Yay!" Dot cheered.

We are soon shown the wedding between Judy and Nick. Their parents seemed concerned, but tried to be supportive of their children, and where Nick seemed to be getting cold feet.

"Oh, Nicky, you look so grown-up~" An older female voice cooed.

"Aw, Mom, get out of here, you can't see me like this." Nick chuckled while blushing to his mother.

"Uncle Nick, you okay?" Tod asked.

"Oh, I'm fine..." Nick smiled nervously. "Why wouldn't I be okay?"

"Your fur's standing on end..." Tod pointed out.

"I think I know what's going on." An older male voice said.

"Let me guess, you speak from experience?" Nick playfully smirked, it was just the kind of fox he was.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do." Nick's father said.

"Do tell." Nick chuckled.

"Grandpa?" Tod asked his uncle.

Nick nodded.

"Grandpa!" Tod beamed to his uncle's father.

Nick's father chuckled as he ruffled the top of Tod's head. Nick's mother smiled as she then hugged Tod, they were both very happy and thrilled about being grandparents, but it was a sad tale about what became of their long-lost daughter, Tod's mother and Nick's younger sister.

"Mind if I talk with Nick alone for a moment?" Nick's father asked his wife.

"Of course, dear..." Nick's mother agreed before taking Tod in her arm to walk with him. "Oh, look at how much you've grown."

Tod smiled as he followed his grandmother away.

"Son." Nick's father smiled.

"Dad." Nick smiled back.

"You sure have a come a long way." Nick's father smiled.

"Aw, Dad..." Nick smiled back, a little bashfully.

"When your mother told me you were going to marry a bunny, I thought it was a crazy story, but it's all too real..." Nick's father smiled. "I'm very proud to be with you here on your wedding day."

"Well, thanks, Dad." Nick smiled.

"And I know how you feel; I got cold feet on my wedding day too." Nick's Father said.

"Heh... Who said I was nervous?" Nick smiled nervously.

"No one had to; I can see it all over your face." Nick's father chuckled to his grown son.

"Is it that obvious?" Nick smiled nervously.

"It happens to the best of us," Nick's father smiled back in confidence. "You're doing better than I did when I married your mom, though, I was so nervous I nearly got sick... But don't worry, I know you can handle this."

Nick smiled back as he was given some fatherly advise.

"Oh, my Gawd, such a happy day~" A certain female shrew smiled up to Judy as she was in her gown.

"I'm so glad that you could come as a bridesmaid, Fru-Fru." Judy smiled back down.

"I'm happy I could come too." Fru-Fru smiled back.

Judy picked up the shrew and hugged her while Fru-Fru hugged her face.

"There's my little cop." Bonnie smiled.

"Oh, hi, Mom." Judy smiled back.

"You nervous?" Bonnie asked her.

"A little bit..." Judy blushed. "I'm a little surprised though that you and Dad are all right with me marrying Nick."

"Well, I suppose after your move to Zootopia to become the first bunny cop; anything is possible." Bonnie smiled as she hugged her grown daughter.

Soon enough, it was time. A bunny girl who was the niece of Judy named Cotton giggled and began to prance around while tossing flower petals.

"Not yet, dear." A female pig told the little bunny girl.

The wedding music was soon heard. Nick soon walked down the aisle first as it was customary and he joined Tod at the side, having his nephew as Best Fox. Fru-Fru joined the other bridesmaids down the side. Eventually, everyone stood up as Stu linked arms with Judy and she wore a bridal veil over her violet eyes and they walked down the aisle together, and where Nick had literally dropped over how beautiful Judy looked. Tod's eyes widened nervously for his uncle.

Nick smiled sheepishly as he soon stood back up, dusting himself off. Stu smiled as he soon let Judy go and she then walked further to Nick while holding her bouquet. They soon arrived at the end of the aisle. Nick and Judy soon faced each other and everyone then sat down. The service soon began and went as well as you'd expect, and the preacher asked if there were any objections. Fru-Fru stood up for a moment which worried everyone, but she was straightening out her dress and soon sat back down, not saying anything. 

This calmed everyone down, showing that their were no objections. The preacher soon asked Judy and Nick if they would take each other as husband and wife, and soon announced them as married and allowing Nick to kiss his bride. Nick lifted up the veil from Judy's face and soon kissed her on the lips. This made everybody in the church cheer and celebrate the new happily wedded couple. After that, it was of course time for cake.

"Of course a rabbit wedding would have carrot cake..." Nick commented before he snuck a nibble and ate it, but then soon smiled as he liked it and snuck a little more.

"Nicholas Piberius Wilde, are you sneaking your cake before Judy cuts it?" Mrs. Wilde scolded her grown son.

"No?" Nick lied with his mouth full.

"You've always had such a sweet tooth..." Mrs. Wilde sighed with a slight face-paw. "At least Tod knows better... Right, Tod?"

"You say something, Grandma?" Tod's voice muffled as he seemed to do the same thing as Nick did.

"Never mind." Nick's mother sighed.

Eventually Judy came to cut the cake, and saw pieces missing which made her glare at her new husband.

"He started it." Nick pointed to Tod. 

"Did not!" Tod glared.

Judy simply sighed as she should have seen this coming. Nick and Tod both smiled sheepishly. Judy then cut the cake and made sure that everyone else got some and smiled as she did her best to cut a very tiny piece for Fru-Fru and her friend, Mariana, who was also the sister of Jerry Mouse and the mother of Tuffy. Not to mention, another slice for Vixey.


	10. Chapter 10

"And it was a perfectly lovely celebration..." Patch smiled as the story was winding down, and the humans seemed to be packing for something. "Best of all, Tod and Copper would still be best friends, but of course, as you now know him as your Uncle Copper and he and Aunt Danielle along with Uncle Tod and Aunt Vixey lived happily ever after."

"Aww~" Dot smiled back once the story ended.

Scruffy rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out to the wedding part.

"I hope we can see Uncle Tod and Aunt Vixey sometime." Dot beamed.

"I'm sure you will..." Patch smiled before looking to the family around them. "Uh, what's going on?"

"Oh, we didn't tell you guys?" Atticus replied. "We're going camping this weekend."

"Wahoo!" Patch cheered.

"Where are we camping to?" Collette asked. "Jellystone Park?"

"You're funny, but no," Mo chuckled. "We're going to Jasper National Park."

"Yay!" Scruffy and Dot cheered.

"Is Yogi Bear there?" Dot wondered.

"No, he lives in Jellystone Park with Boo Boo and Ranger Smith." Collette giggled.

"I think you watch too many cartoons." Patch teased his mate.

"Oh, ha, ha, ha." Collette smirked.

"Aren't Yogi and Boo Boo the names of those genies from Aliyah-Din and the Magic Lamp?" Dot wondered.

Scruffy shrugged before they decided to go see everyone as they packed up for a camping trip.

"Story time again?" Atticus asked as he pet Patch while Mo patted Collette on the head.

"Yeah." Patch nodded.

"Kids love 'em." Collette added.

"I can imagine," Mo smiled. "So, you guys wanna go camping with us? You might meet someone you know... I read that dogs are descended from wolves."

"You mean like Humphrey and Kate?" Patch smiled back.

"Well, you never know..." Mo smiled back. "We've had stranger family trees."

"Yeah, that's true, but camping will be good..." Patch smiled. "I don't think I can remember the last time we went camping."

"Same here." Collette said.

"I think my favorite time was Camp Everfree though." Patch smiled.

"Yeah, that was pretty fun." Atticus agreed.

Akito and Estelle packed their bags with Scruffy and Dot joining them, and when they looked to their stuff, they found themselves seeing some books that Ace and Lexi sent them from their last visits from Acmetropolis.

"Treasure Planet..." Akito said softly.

"Princess Power..." Estelle added.

"You two okay?" Scruffy asked.

"Oh... Just thinking... I can't believe how long ago that was..." Estelle said.

"What?" Dot asked.

"Our adventures with Ace and Lexi..." Estelle replied. 

"I thought we'd be there forever." Akito added.

"Same here." Estelle said.

"So, what're these books about?" Dot asked, making conversation.

"I'll go first cuz ladies first," Estelle teased her twin brother before sitting down with Dot to show her the book. "This is Princess Power. Kara, a modern-day princess with an everyday life. One day, after being kissed by a magical butterfly, Kara soon discovers she has amazing super powers allowing her to transform into Super Sparkle, her secret, crime-fighting alter ego who flies around the kingdom ready to save the day!"

"She kinda looks like Barbie." Dot commented about the blonde girl in the picture.

"I know." Estelle smiled.

"What's your story?" Scruffy asked Akito.

"It's a lot like Treasure Island, but with a sci-fi theme, it looks really cool..." Akito smiled. "I'd like to meet the Jim Hawkins in this story."

"Sounds cool." Scruffy smiled back.

"I sure miss Ace and Lexi a lot," Estelle sighed. "I'm proud that Zadavia made them and the other Loonatics the Guardians of the Galaxy."

"Uh, sorry about being mean, Sis," Akito said sheepishly. "It was just that Dad was gone so long..."

"It's okay, besides, I knew you were only acting evil." Estelle reassured.

"You know me so well..." Akito replied. "I think that's a twin thing... I try to learn from James and Amber in Enchancia sometimes."

"Except that one time when Amber tried to get Cedric to the James a year younger only to turn him into a baby by accident." Estelle said.

"Oh, no!" Scruffy and Dot gasped.

"Why did she do that?" Dot asked.

"Oh, Amber was just a little upset about having to share her birthday." Estelle explained.

"And it didn't help that James had ate the first batch of pancakes on the plate that was supposed to be for both of them." Akito said.

"Oh, I hope James isn't mean." Dot pouted.

"He isn't," Akito promised. "He just didn't know that the pancakes were for both of them."

"Well, that's good." Dot said.

"Can we meet them soon?" Scruffy asked.

"I'm sure of it," Estelle said. "Oh, but no chasing Clover, he's a bunny." 

"He's not like Aunt Fluttershy's bunny, is he...?" Dot asked since Angel was kind of spoiled sometimes.

"No, no." Estelle shook her head.

"Clover is very nice, and funny, and a great bunny..." Akito smiled from memory. 

This made Scruffy and Dot smile back.

Eventually, the car was being loaded up for the family camping trip, and where the Fudo siblings did the very best that they could with packing up. 

"Kids..." Mo chuckled.

Soon enough, they were all ready. 

"Is that everything?" Atticus asked.

"I think the kids packed everything, but the kitchen sink." Mo smiled.

"Let's go." The Fudo siblings smiled back to their mother.

"All right, off we go then." Atticus smiled as he took the wheel to drive in the car.

"This old man, he played one~" Mo began to sing.

"He plays knick-knack on my thumb~," The kids sang with their mother as they drove to Jasper National Park. "With a knick-knack paddy wack, Give a dog a bone, This old man comes rolling home~"

They were now on their way to the park which would be another adventure. The whole family was very excited about going, but that was a story for another time. Atticus and Mo looked out the window and they could've sworn they saw an older fox couple in the forests they passed with kits of their own along with an orange creature with purple eyes that looked like a fox bunny hybrid.

The End


End file.
